Letter 16 - Week 17 

Hey momma,

I hope you guys had the time of your lives camping this Memorial Day.  I bet it rained too! jeje ;) Don’t worry I didn’t miss out on any rain. It’s starting to rain everyday here. The storms here are so cool. I wish you guys could see them. It’s a lot like what I could remember from Texas with tons of lightening. I really have to find boots soon though, or my feet are gonna hate mi. (mi is me but in Spanish)

This week we baptized our new convert and I got to confirm her in sacrament meeting. I’m really hoping she stays strong in the church so that in one year I can go to the temple with her and her bebe (baby) and her husband:)) I don't think I need to worry too much about her though because when we asked her to say a prayer the last time she gave thanks to God that she was apart of his true kingdom here on earth. 

We were able to make two more baptism dates too! We have one guy who’s name is Victor Ugo. He is an ex drug dealer and coke smuggler. He’s super chill, but his brain is a little slower because he has done about every drug imaginable. He told us he wants to change his life and has been doing just that. He comes to church every week and his second time coming he said he knew that this was the true church and that he could feel the spirit so strongly there. He has been searching a few other churches and says he doesn't feel the same spirit there :) He asked if he could be baptized before we could even pop the question haha. He is working hard right now to stop smoking marijuana and drinking coffee. 

Our other fecha (date) is with someone named Manuel Lopez. He’s trying to get over smoking and has dropped from 40 cigs to 1 a day. We have a date for the 27th, his birthday, and I’m praying he can just get over the last little hump in the road. I know he can do it, and when he does he is going to be able to go to the temple with his wife and kids in a year and get sealed also. It’s really exciting to be able to help these people and to see the miracles in their lives and how much they have been able to accomplish :)

I just finished my training last week and now I have changes tomorrow. My companion is leaving the area and I’m staying to keep it running. It’s a little nerve racking because I’m almost positive I’m getting a latino tomorrow and I’m going to be left to take care of everything in the area until he gets to know it. But I’m super confident in my Spanish now so everything should go good. I’m ready for a latino because there is only so much I could learn with my norte comp who is still trying to learn the language also. I’m so glad that I had a gringo first though, because he was able to teach me all the grammar and how to do everything in clarity. Now I can focus on just expanding my vocabulary.

Something that I have grown to love so much and can’t get enough of is reading my scriptures in spanish. It’s such a different experience, one of the coolest I’ve ever had, and and have every day. When I read in spanish I am forced to focus in on every little detail in every verse and it really opens up my mind creatively and spiritually. I enjoy what I read so much more and pull so much more out of it spiritually. I have to read more slowly and never can just skim over the words.  My scriptures look like a coloring book because every page about has something marked haha. I don't have to have my english ones open anymore and hardly ever use them except studying the bible and sometimes in D&C. 

IF YOU want to learn spanish FAST, there isn't a better way than reading the scriptures out loud. I have come to realize that it is the little things we are asked to do that don't always make logical sense that help the MOST. There are so many rules and laws that don't make much sense to us and sometimes the Lord asks us to do things that don't make sense either. A lot of times we ignore these little things and say they don't apply to us. This is a big lie from the adversary!!! Those little things are there to test our obedience. The greatest law of heaven is obedience, and if we want to be worthy to enter that kingdom we need to learn obedience. It’s like abraham when he was asked to kill his son.

It is the days that I do the things I’m asked (the little things) that are the best days. The days that I preach with the spirit the strongest, the days that I can speak the language best, the days that I have the most energy to keep going. 

I love and miss you guys so much.

Love, 

Elder Dabel

Letter 15 May 18 2015 

(We went out of town so I didn’t get to post this)

Thank you for all of your prayers, this week I’ve really needed all of them. I’ve been sicker than heck the last few days with dengue fever. It has been the worst experience of my whole mission so far. I received a blessing and I think I’m just about over it now. But, I lost a lot of weight really fast. It was funny, I went to church and our buddy asked if I had been loosing weight because my pants were saggy haha.

WOW, Michaela and Emma’s prom pics .... que bonita, miran como mommasitas. I bet all my sisters are going to look a lot different when I get home haha. Make sure the boys don't steal them before I get home! That’s awesome to hear about the color run. 

I should have changes in two Tuesdays, so you might not hear about it for another week.